Washington Mother Allegedly Fatally Shot Daughter as the 14-Year-Old Called 911 to Save Family
A Washington mother is accused of fatally shooting her 14-year-old daughter as the teen attempted to call 911 during a horrific domestic incident that also involved the teen’s father and brother, PEOPLE confirms.
Svetlana Laurel, 52, was arrested Tuesday night shortly after police received a frantic call from the teen, who was identified by KIRO 7 as Natalie Gulizia, that her mother was wielding a gun and a Taser and had zip-tied her 12-year-old brother.
The incident began earlier when Laurel, who was estranged from her husband Michael, showed up at the home he shared with their two children, according to a police probable cause affidavit.
The boy, who was home alone, let his mother inside. Once inside, he told police that she asked him to show her around and then brought him upstairs and zip-tied him. She allegedly stuffed a sock in his mouth and taped it shut. The boy reportedly told police his mother later removed it, threatening to Taser him if he made a noise.
Police say when her ex-husband — the father of the children — arrived home with Natalie around 8 p.m. “Svetlana drew a pistol, and told [the father] that she was going to shoot him because he had ruined her life,” the affidavit states, which then described the 911 call in which some of the chaotic, violent events were heard.
According to the affidavit, Natalie, a student at Kennedy Catholic High School, ran upstairs to call 911 and over a 15-minute conversation with the operator described the mayhem.
At one point, she told the operator that her mother was now upstairs and that she had placed the phone in her pocket.
The operator reported that she could hear Laurel yelling in the background “you called 911,” and then saying something about “Blow your head off,” the affidavit reads.
The operator allegedly also heard a noise similar to zip ties being used and then a loud sound similar to a door slamming followed by a scream about “someone possibly being dead.”
Michael told police that after he heard the gunshot, Laurel came back down the stairs and attempted to shoot him but the gun jammed. He allegedly then rammed her into the wall with his shoulder and was able to wrestle the gun out of her hand.
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According to the affidavit, police arrived at 8:32 p.m. detaining Laurel and removing the boy from the house. Officers discovered Natalie dead in her upstairs bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head.
“It is unfathomable,” Sandra Havlik, a spokesperson for the Renton Police Department tells PEOPLE.
Authorities say Laurel had recently lost custody of the two children to him.
“We believe there was a parenting plan in place but recent child custody issues that may have changed,” Havlik said, though she adds an exact motive is not clear.
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Laurel is currently being held on suspicion of murder one, attempted murder in the first degree, and three counts of unlawful imprisonment.
She is being held without bail at the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle. She is scheduled to appear in court on December 21.
